Highway lane reduction in Vero Beach opposed

VERO BEACH — Robert Loewinger feels so strongly opposed to a proposed plan to reduce the number of lanes on State Road 60 as it passes through downtown that he has started a petition against the project.

Loewinger, who attended a Nov. 15 meeting where an early draft of the proposal was discussed, said he is opposed to the cost and the bottlenecks that he fears would be created by the project.

The area being studied encompasses the two legs of State Road 60, known as the Twin Pairs, in downtown Vero Beach between the railroad tracks and 20th Avenue. The Indian River County Metropolitan Planning Organization in June approved an $81,768 study of the two, one-way stretches of roadway. Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., will present their report at the Dec. 20th meeting of the city's Planning and Zoning Board, which begins at 1:30 p.m.

The initial findings in the report being finalized by Kimley Horn do not anticipate any bottlenecks now or in the foreseeable future. The plan looks at eliminating two westbound travel lanes and one eastbound travel lane and converting parts of those closed lanes into parking spaces.

Vice Mayor Tracy Carroll last year brought forward the idea of trying to reduce the number of lanes on the Twin Pairs after discussions with downtown business people. City Councilwoman Pilar Turner also has said there is a need for additional parking downtown, although some have disagreed. City officials also contend that the current road configuration creates "visual and noise impact" that discouraged potential downtown redevelopment.

The estimated cost of the conversion, including resurfacing and putting in the parking spaces, would be about $825,000, according to the initial report.

City officials have said the changes could lead to reduced speed limits and improved pedestrian movement.

Loewinger, however, contends that putting in parking in the closed lanes could increase the changes of accidents as people try to parallel park or open their doors into oncoming traffic. He also envisions traffic problems as motorists transition from four lanes to two lanes.

Loewinger also noted that State Road 60 is a designated hurricane and tsunami evacuation route, although city Planning and Development Director Tim McGarry has said he doesn't think reducing the lanes will impact evacuation.

The petition at this point is not seeking a referendum on the issue. In order to get a referendum on the ballot, the council or Indian River County Commission would have to take action to hold one or a petition calling for one would have to be signed by 10 percent of the voters in the last city or county election — depending on whether a county wide or city wide petition was requested.

A city wide petition would be much more expensive since there is no county wide election imminent. A city wide referendum could cost close to $21,000, but the city might be doing one anyway on the sale of its electric system. In that case, adding another referendum to the ballot should not add any cost, said City Clerk Tammy Vock.